86 



THE SAKIS. 



Of this ornament the Cuxio is mightily careful, protecting its facial ornament with a 

 veneration equal to that beard-worship for which the mediaeval Spanish noble was world- 

 famous. It is even more fastidious in this respect than the Diana monkey, whose beard-pro- 

 tecting customs have been alluded to on page 43. The Diana will hold its beard aside when it 

 drinks ; but the more cautious Cuxio forbears to put its face near the water. Instead of 

 drinking a deep draught by suction, as is the custom with most monkeys, it scoops up the 

 liquid in the palm of its hand, and so avoids the danger of wetting its beard. 



This curious habit, however, is but rarely witnessed, as the animal dislikes to exhibit its 

 fastidiousness before spectators, and only when it thinks itself unwatched will it use its 



natural goblet. When in the presence 

 of witnesses it drinks as do other mon- 

 keys, wetting its beard without com- 

 punction. 



The general color of this monkey 

 is a grizzled brown, sometimes speckled 

 with rust-colored hairs, and the limbs, 

 tail, and head are black. If, however, 

 the hair of the body be blown aside, 

 a grayish hair takes the place of the 

 dark brown ; for the hairs are much 

 lighter towards their insertion, and 

 in many cases are nearly white. The 

 hair of the head is remarkable for 

 the mode of its arrangement, which 

 gives it an air as if it had been 

 parted artificially. The long black 

 hairs start from a line down the 

 centre of the head, and fall over the 

 temples so densely that they quite 

 conceal the ears under their thick 

 locks. The large quantity of hair 

 that decorates the head and face in- 

 creases the really great comparative 

 size of the rounded head. The nostrils 

 are rather large, and are separated 

 from each other by a dividing carti- 

 THE sA.miia.-caiiu/irix sdurea. lage w r hich is larger than is usual 



even in the American monkeys. 



The teeth are so sharp and the jaws so strong, that Humboldt has seen the animal, when 

 enraged, drive its weapons deeply into a thick plank. When it suffers from a fit of passion, 

 it grinds these sharp teeth, leaps about in fury, and rubs the extremity of its long beard. 

 Even when slightly irritated, it grins with savage rage, threatening the offender with menacing 

 grimaces, and wrinkling the skin of its jaws and face. 



It is not known to live in companies, as is the wont of most American monkeys, but passes 

 a comparatively solitary life, limiting its acquaintance to its partner and its family. The cry 

 of this animal is rather powerful, and can be heard at a considerable distance. The color of 

 the female Cuxio is not so dark as that of her mate, being almost wholly of a rusty brown. It 

 is chiefly nocturnal in its habits. 



There are several monkeys known by the name of Sakis, among which are reckoned the 

 Cuxio, which has just been described, and two other species, which are easily distinguished 

 from each other by the color of their heads. The first of these animals is the BLACK YARKE, 

 or WHITE-HEADED SAKI, and the other the CACAJAO, or BLACK-HEADED SAKI. 



The former of these Sakis is a rather elegant creature in form, and of color more varied 

 than those of the Cuxio. As will be seen from the accompanying engraving, the head is sur- 



